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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Thanks to NetGalley for the free e-ARC.
So again without giving too much away I can and can't see the hype for this book. I feel like it really took to the last third/fourth of the book to pick up. The premise is good and intriguing. I don't know if it was the pacing or the writing but something to me just didn't click right away. In the end I did enjoy it and will like to see how it develops from here.
So again without giving too much away I can and can't see the hype for this book. I feel like it really took to the last third/fourth of the book to pick up. The premise is good and intriguing. I don't know if it was the pacing or the writing but something to me just didn't click right away. In the end I did enjoy it and will like to see how it develops from here.
The one thing about reviewing a book early is having so few people to talk to about it!
So I first requested this book on Netgalley purely for the cover. I had not seen this book anywhere, never heard of the author, knew nothing about its contents.
Man, was this the best cover pick ever.
I LOVED this book. I honestly thought this was an adult historical fiction due to the writing style, gritty and, at times, gruesome details, and the unbelievably, truly morally grey main character (I say this because grey characters are hard to do and I don't see them done well in YA all that often). There is no magic in this book except for the author's writing and storytelling (another thing I didn't expect). And yet the characters held this story together and kept me enraptured the entire time. This book does involve thievery, and I love that the author doesn't try to overdo the plans or try to mislead you (because, again, this can go awry). And I love that the main character is driven by her passion - something that shines throughout. (It also helps that there weren't any needless side plots thrown in that would dissuade the MC's passion, which I was nervous would happen a few times - if you're an avid reader of YA then hopefully you'll catch my drift).
I don't think this will be a book for everyone - it is slow and simmering, building upon itself with each chapter, but I can see how this can deter some readers. But if you like books about thievery, underground organizations, several murder attempts, and 1800s France, then I highly recommend it!
So I first requested this book on Netgalley purely for the cover. I had not seen this book anywhere, never heard of the author, knew nothing about its contents.
Man, was this the best cover pick ever.
I LOVED this book. I honestly thought this was an adult historical fiction due to the writing style, gritty and, at times, gruesome details, and the unbelievably, truly morally grey main character (I say this because grey characters are hard to do and I don't see them done well in YA all that often). There is no magic in this book except for the author's writing and storytelling (another thing I didn't expect). And yet the characters held this story together and kept me enraptured the entire time. This book does involve thievery, and I love that the author doesn't try to overdo the plans or try to mislead you (because, again, this can go awry). And I love that the main character is driven by her passion - something that shines throughout. (It also helps that there weren't any needless side plots thrown in that would dissuade the MC's passion, which I was nervous would happen a few times - if you're an avid reader of YA then hopefully you'll catch my drift).
I don't think this will be a book for everyone - it is slow and simmering, building upon itself with each chapter, but I can see how this can deter some readers. But if you like books about thievery, underground organizations, several murder attempts, and 1800s France, then I highly recommend it!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me with the e-ARC of this book.
I was really intrigued by this as everyone was raving about how it's a Les Mis retelling, and as I have never seen/read Les Mis I got to go into this story with fresh eyes and no real expectations. So on that note, although I had no expectations on the retelling side, I did expect this to be a great book (and boy do I love a book with a heist). I thought this was brilliantly written and I cannot wait for the sequel.
I really enjoyed how a lot of the characters were very morally grey, Nina for example is a theif and also essentially uses other characters as bait, sometimes regrets it instanty and trying to fix her error. Without a doubt, Nina is my favourite character, she's clever and the way she gets into certain places to steal is absolutely genius - the prison was my favourite. I really liked the Prince, although he is definitely a sheltered royal who could learn a few things about the world outside the palace, but I felt like we didn't get enough of him in this book, I'm hoping we see a bit more from him in the second book, as I think he could bring so much more to the story. Ettie really grated on my nerves at some parts but I loved that she did because it was just a reminder that she's still a child, she's naïve and Nina has tried sheltering her from the monstrosities she's experienced and the childhood she herself lost.
I think my favourite part of this was the different guilds, their system and rules were so interesting and I really hope we get to see more, although it was also majorly flawed how they all seemed to be under the unspoken control of one guild lord in particular. Although there is no real romance in this, there are three possible love interests for Nina, and while I instantly ruled out one of them, I was a bit fan of the idea of another in particular but near the end my opinion on that changed completely to the third so I'm definitely interested to see where that actually goes, and if it actually goes anywhere in the next book.
I was really intrigued by this as everyone was raving about how it's a Les Mis retelling, and as I have never seen/read Les Mis I got to go into this story with fresh eyes and no real expectations. So on that note, although I had no expectations on the retelling side, I did expect this to be a great book (and boy do I love a book with a heist). I thought this was brilliantly written and I cannot wait for the sequel.
I really enjoyed how a lot of the characters were very morally grey, Nina for example is a theif and also essentially uses other characters as bait, sometimes regrets it instanty and trying to fix her error. Without a doubt, Nina is my favourite character, she's clever and the way she gets into certain places to steal is absolutely genius - the prison was my favourite. I really liked the Prince, although he is definitely a sheltered royal who could learn a few things about the world outside the palace, but I felt like we didn't get enough of him in this book, I'm hoping we see a bit more from him in the second book, as I think he could bring so much more to the story. Ettie really grated on my nerves at some parts but I loved that she did because it was just a reminder that she's still a child, she's naïve and Nina has tried sheltering her from the monstrosities she's experienced and the childhood she herself lost.
I think my favourite part of this was the different guilds, their system and rules were so interesting and I really hope we get to see more, although it was also majorly flawed how they all seemed to be under the unspoken control of one guild lord in particular. Although there is no real romance in this, there are three possible love interests for Nina, and while I instantly ruled out one of them, I was a bit fan of the idea of another in particular but near the end my opinion on that changed completely to the third so I'm definitely interested to see where that actually goes, and if it actually goes anywhere in the next book.
El que sea un retelling de Les Mis y El Libro de la Selva (una mezcla que no sabía por dónde podía salir), no deja de ser original por la sociedad que crea entre los delincuentes que habita La Corte de los Milagros, algo propio y ajeno al mundo de "los caminantes diurnos", con su propia ley e historias.
Fue interesante estar en una París donde la Revolución fue un fracaso, pero donde, a pesar de todo sigue habiendo quienes quieren alzarse contra la corona en nombre de la justicia (St.Juste/Enjolras y Les amis) y verla a través de los ojos de Eponine es parte de lo que más me ha gustado.
Creo que es de las primeras veces que me encuentro con una protagonista que no me parece insoportable, aunque reconozco que hay algunas cosas en su historia que apuntan a lo típico (su maravillosa habilidad para el latrocinio, por ejemplo), tiene sus faltas, sus sombras, su egoísmo al ir persiguiendo su objetivo sin preocuparse por las consecuencias que va a crear.
Sinceramente, la subtrama del príncipe y todo lo de la realeza (en Las Tullerías se cuela todo el mundo) me sobraba un poco hasta que lo han enlazado con la société. Pero, igualmente, de no haber estado no me habría molestado.
Also, #enjonine & #montponine
También me ha gustado que haya algo de #valvert, pero no necesitaba que fuera una inspectora.
Fue interesante estar en una París donde la Revolución fue un fracaso, pero donde, a pesar de todo sigue habiendo quienes quieren alzarse contra la corona en nombre de la justicia (St.Juste/Enjolras y Les amis) y verla a través de los ojos de Eponine es parte de lo que más me ha gustado.
Creo que es de las primeras veces que me encuentro con una protagonista que no me parece insoportable, aunque reconozco que hay algunas cosas en su historia que apuntan a lo típico (su maravillosa habilidad para el latrocinio, por ejemplo), tiene sus faltas, sus sombras, su egoísmo al ir persiguiendo su objetivo sin preocuparse por las consecuencias que va a crear.
Sinceramente, la subtrama del príncipe y todo lo de la realeza (en Las Tullerías se cuela todo el mundo) me sobraba un poco hasta que lo han enlazado con la société. Pero, igualmente, de no haber estado no me habría molestado.
Also, #enjonine & #montponine
También me ha gustado que haya algo de #valvert, pero no necesitaba que fuera una inspectora.
Let me just preface this that, like many people who picked up this book, I am both a fan of Guild-of-Thieves books and of Les Mis... and where this book really stumbles is its attempt to keep the training wheels of Les Mis on to completely avoid doing things like characterization or description (it would have been a nice thing to find a happy medium between the high school play drawing of Paris on butcher paper of this book and Hugo's "oh I see you're here for 400 pages about architecture") while also not using any of it to its full potential-- Eponine becomes Nina, Cosette becomes Ettie. The author concedes that she wrote this because she hates Marius, and her decision just not to include him was the right move.
Especially when you find out that gender-swapped Javert is just so she can now comfortably have the ruthlessness regarding Valjean be because, oh, that's right, she's a scorned woman pissed off that Valjean broke her heart. Not that this was expanded upon either beyond just giving Nina her "I am so smrt" epiphany moment by meeting Javert for all of 30 seconds and sorting this out. For all the nothing both her and Valjean did, they may as well had not been there at all.
Apparently, Eponine's "deserving better" was having every boy have a crush on her instead of the other way around, to lose the intriguing conflict between her and Cosette, and being a cool thief who still loses all the time because of how obsessed she is with protecting Ettie? Sure, okay.
By the time I got to the last chapters, I just wanted it to be over. There's one brilliant scene somewhere in the middle of the book, but the swift descent downhill was a rough one.
And yeah, making Javert a woman for the sole purpose of making her characterization the most one dimensional bullshit ever was not the move. If it hadn't been near the end already I would have DNF'd it right there.
Especially when you find out that gender-swapped Javert is just so she can now comfortably have the ruthlessness regarding Valjean be because, oh, that's right, she's a scorned woman pissed off that Valjean broke her heart. Not that this was expanded upon either beyond just giving Nina her "I am so smrt" epiphany moment by meeting Javert for all of 30 seconds and sorting this out. For all the nothing both her and Valjean did, they may as well had not been there at all.
Apparently, Eponine's "deserving better" was having every boy have a crush on her instead of the other way around, to lose the intriguing conflict between her and Cosette, and being a cool thief who still loses all the time because of how obsessed she is with protecting Ettie? Sure, okay.
By the time I got to the last chapters, I just wanted it to be over. There's one brilliant scene somewhere in the middle of the book, but the swift descent downhill was a rough one.
And yeah, making Javert a woman for the sole purpose of making her characterization the most one dimensional bullshit ever was not the move. If it hadn't been near the end already I would have DNF'd it right there.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to Random House Children's / Knopf Books for providing an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book, and I'm sad to say I was left disappointed.
Let me begin by saying that the premise is exciting, and the author is good at setting and description. I found my skin crawling with some of the vivid imagery. However, I found the execution in general lacking.
My biggest issue is that I felt nothing for any of the characters except annoyance. Every last one fell flat, and often I had to refer to my notes to remember who was who because they were all static. Nina, our main character, reads so cold, self-serving, and emotionless, that even knowing her motivation to protect her sisters, I still couldn't sympathize or root for her.
The story was all over the place. Emphasized issues were swapped so abruptly, and the time jumps left me floundering and wondering if something that was true years ago (in the last chapter) still holds because it wasn't mentioned again. Such as things pertaining to manner and appearance that were written to be very important, then pretty much fall away, this is also true of motivations and left me scratching my head. There were scenes where something would happen to a character, such as a terrible wound, and suddenly they're up and acting like nothing happened—going from laying there bleeding to hopping up and rushing around. There were a lot of unrealistic actions that are quite detrimental to the story, especially considering the book is written in first person. Yet, Nina's thoughts are contradictory to what happens. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, suffice it to say when something big was revealed, I didn't understand how it was possible considering the character's mindset on the issue.
Overall the scenes seemed jumbled, some rushed, others pointless. The "love interests" felt tossed in simply to say there was some nod to romance, they too fell flat. There was no passion or actual interest, for that matter. It was more like being told one person liked another just for the sake of knowing. Like the characters themselves, it wasn't fleshed out.
At the halfway point, I was bored. I pushed through because, as I said before, I wanted to like this book. There were some points of interest in the beginning, it sagged throughout the middle, and the end felt thrown together and rushed. The pacing was just odd. It was mostly slow with these odd random bursts that tricked me into thinking something was happening. Repetitive phrases were exhausting, and honestly, I just wanted something to happen. I felt a bit surprised, perhaps once in the book. Even parts meant to be surprising or shocking, I think, were done in a way that left me confused instead of that rush of excitement or dread I wanted to feel.
Bear in mind this was not a final copy, so there may yet be editing to help tighten and brighten this manuscript, and I sincerely hope that is the case. I think this has so much potential; it just needs some work.
I really wanted to like this book, and I'm sad to say I was left disappointed.
Let me begin by saying that the premise is exciting, and the author is good at setting and description. I found my skin crawling with some of the vivid imagery. However, I found the execution in general lacking.
My biggest issue is that I felt nothing for any of the characters except annoyance. Every last one fell flat, and often I had to refer to my notes to remember who was who because they were all static. Nina, our main character, reads so cold, self-serving, and emotionless, that even knowing her motivation to protect her sisters, I still couldn't sympathize or root for her.
The story was all over the place. Emphasized issues were swapped so abruptly, and the time jumps left me floundering and wondering if something that was true years ago (in the last chapter) still holds because it wasn't mentioned again. Such as things pertaining to manner and appearance that were written to be very important, then pretty much fall away, this is also true of motivations and left me scratching my head. There were scenes where something would happen to a character, such as a terrible wound, and suddenly they're up and acting like nothing happened—going from laying there bleeding to hopping up and rushing around. There were a lot of unrealistic actions that are quite detrimental to the story, especially considering the book is written in first person. Yet, Nina's thoughts are contradictory to what happens. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, suffice it to say when something big was revealed, I didn't understand how it was possible considering the character's mindset on the issue.
Overall the scenes seemed jumbled, some rushed, others pointless. The "love interests" felt tossed in simply to say there was some nod to romance, they too fell flat. There was no passion or actual interest, for that matter. It was more like being told one person liked another just for the sake of knowing. Like the characters themselves, it wasn't fleshed out.
At the halfway point, I was bored. I pushed through because, as I said before, I wanted to like this book. There were some points of interest in the beginning, it sagged throughout the middle, and the end felt thrown together and rushed. The pacing was just odd. It was mostly slow with these odd random bursts that tricked me into thinking something was happening. Repetitive phrases were exhausting, and honestly, I just wanted something to happen. I felt a bit surprised, perhaps once in the book. Even parts meant to be surprising or shocking, I think, were done in a way that left me confused instead of that rush of excitement or dread I wanted to feel.
Bear in mind this was not a final copy, so there may yet be editing to help tighten and brighten this manuscript, and I sincerely hope that is the case. I think this has so much potential; it just needs some work.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
THIS WAS INCREDIBLE.
Granted, I live in the overlap of the venn diagram of People Who Love YA and People Who Read Les Mis Fanfiction In High School. But I feel like this book was so perfect.
To me, Eponine has always been a character motivated by love. It was SO GOOD to see her motivated by a familial love over a romantic love in this book. I found it to be a very refreshing take on her character.
ALSO (mild spoilers??) Lady Javert is my FAVORITE THING. I mean it when I say it felt like Kester Grant wrote a book specifically catering to all my interests. I’m obsessed and may need my own copy of this so I can read it to death.
I did not miss Marius at all, surprisingly. But I did miss Jean Prouvaire (my fave ❤️) Every time the students showed up, I was hoping for some Jean Prouvaire.
For such a dark story, reading Grant’s take on all my favorite characters felt like a comforting, warm hug. And MONTPARNASSE?? Okay, I’m going to stop, but seriously. 10/10. 5 stars. Go read this immediately. ❤️
Granted, I live in the overlap of the venn diagram of People Who Love YA and People Who Read Les Mis Fanfiction In High School. But I feel like this book was so perfect.
To me, Eponine has always been a character motivated by love. It was SO GOOD to see her motivated by a familial love over a romantic love in this book. I found it to be a very refreshing take on her character.
ALSO (mild spoilers??) Lady Javert is my FAVORITE THING. I mean it when I say it felt like Kester Grant wrote a book specifically catering to all my interests. I’m obsessed and may need my own copy of this so I can read it to death.
I did not miss Marius at all, surprisingly. But I did miss Jean Prouvaire (my fave ❤️) Every time the students showed up, I was hoping for some Jean Prouvaire.
For such a dark story, reading Grant’s take on all my favorite characters felt like a comforting, warm hug. And MONTPARNASSE?? Okay, I’m going to stop, but seriously. 10/10. 5 stars. Go read this immediately. ❤️